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Planting the roots of disaster resilience: Honouring Nelson Mandela Day through nature-based solutions

22 July 2025 | Story Nontobeko Nxumalo | Photo Supplied

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Centre for Disaster Management Training and Education Centre (DiMTEC) commemorated Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July by planting trees that help embed nature-based solutions at the heart of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

“It’s a simple act, yet deeply symbolic – a commitment to sustainability, climate resilience, and future generations,” said Dr Tlou Raphela-Masuku, a Senior Lecturer at DiMTEC. “Nature-based solutions, such as planting indigenous trees, are not just theoretical strategies; they are practical tools to reduce disaster risk, restore ecosystems, and build community resilience.”

One of the trees planted, the indigenous, resilient Wild Olive (Olea europaea subsp. africana), known locally as Mohlware, embodies the drive to place nature-based solutions at the forefront of disaster risk reduction. “This tree is drought-tolerant and well-adapted to Bloemfontein’s semi-arid climate,” Dr Raphela-Masuku explained. “It stabilises soil, prevents erosion, supports biodiversity, and cools urban spaces. Its thick canopy shelters birds and small mammals, while its deep roots nourish and protect the earth. In a warming world, every Wild Olive planted is a small act of resistance against climate change.”

Collaborative programme

Dr Raphela-Masuku said the tree-planting programme, a collaboration with UFS Protection Services and University Estates, ties directly into the principles the centre teaches in its Master's of Disaster Management module Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction (ECO-DRR).

“From the viewpoint of the African Union’s Science and Technology Advisory Group, it is befitting that as part of the work dedicated to disaster risk reduction initiatives in the African continent, this day is a reminder that we promote community service, resilience and social justice in the ‘Africa we want’. Furthermore, Mandela Day activities align with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR)’s priorities of understanding risks and strengthening disaster governance at all levels,” remarked Prof Alice Ncube, an Associate Professor at DiMTEC.

She added that, “In a city like Bloemfontein, which is not exempt from drought accelerating frequently and temperatures rising yearly, choosing to plant climate-resilient, indigenous species isn’t merely wise, it’s necessary. Trees like the Wild Olive don’t just provide shade and beauty; they help cool urban environments, support biodiversity, and protect our university community from floods and storms. They represent a forward-thinking investment in a sustainable, climate-adapted future. Mandela Day reminds us that service should be continuous, not confined to a single day. A tree planted today will outlive us, offering shade, shelter, and hope to those who come after. As Mandela himself said, ‘The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.’”

Commitment to change

Mandela Day also fits in with the UFS’ Vision 130 strategic intent. It is a day that reminds us that everyone has the power to make a difference. In the spirit of Madiba’s legacy, we can commit to fostering social justice, human dignity, and sustainable development through academic excellence and meaningful community engagement. In the face of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation, each seed we plant becomes an act of defiance as well as an act of hope.

Prof Samuel Adelabu, Vice-Dean: Postgraduate and Research in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, applauded the team’s efforts. “We are planting trees that represent sustainability, things that can stay for long. I believe we are all practising sustainability in this initiative we are doing today to show that the university, as well as the faculties, are in line with sustainability.”

News Archive

UFS receives R13,7 Million for Research into Prehistoric Organisms

2007-03-27

Some of the guests attending the launch of the research contract are: Dr Siyabulela Ntutela (Deputy Director: Biotechnology at the Department of Science and Technology), Dr Godfrey Netswera (Manager of Thuthuka and the Support Programme at the National Research Foundation (NRF)), Dr Esta van Heerden (Platform Manager and lecturer at the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the UFS), Mr Butana Mboniswa (Chief Executive Officer of BioPAD), and Mr Vuyisele Phehani (Portfolio Manager for BioPAD).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

The University of the Free State (UFS) has been awarded a massive R13,7 million contract to conduct research into prehistoric micro-organisms which live under extreme conditions, for example in mineshafts.

This is one of the biggest research contracts awarded to the UFS in recent years.

The biotechnology research contract was awarded to the UFS by BioPAD, a South African biotechnology company that brokers partnerships between researchers, entrepreneurs, business, government and other stakeholders to promote innovation and create sustainable biotechnology businesses.

The project is endorsed by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation (NRF), which contributes to the bursaries of the 17 postgraduate students on the programme.

The contract involves the establishment of a Platform for Metagenomics - a technique which allows researchers to extract the DNA from microbes in their natural environment and investigate it in a laboratory.

“Through this platform we will be able to understand deepmine microbial populations
and their potential application in the search for life in outer space. It is most likely
that, if life were to be found on other planets in our solar system, it would probably
resemble that which existed millions of years ago on earth. Apart from all this, these
organisms have unique properties one can exploit in biotechnological application for
South Africa and its community,” said Dr Esta van Heerden, platform manager and
lecturer at the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology.
She is assisted by her collegues, Prof. Derek Litthauer and Dr Lizelle Piater.

“The platform aims to tap into the unique genetic material in South African mines
which will lead to the discovery of new genes and their products. These new and unique products will find application in the medical field (anti-cancer, anti-bacterial en anti-viral cures), the industrial sector (nanotechnology, commercial washing agents and the food industry), environmental sector (pollution management, demolition of harmful metals and other toxic waste),” said Dr Van Heerden.

According to Dr Van Heerden, the Metagenomics Platforms stems from the Life in
Extreme Environments (LExEN) programme which was started in 1994 by Princeton
University in the United States of America (USA) in South African mines with grants
from among others the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and
the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the USA. Other international collaborators
on the project include Geosynec Consultants Inc. (USA), Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (USA), the University of Tennessee (USA) and in South Africa the
Universities of the Witwatersrand, North West and Limpopo and companies like BHP
Billiton, MINTEK and mining companies like Harmony, Gold Fields and AngloGold
Ashanti.

The research field laboratory of the Metagenomics Platform, which was situated in
Glen Harvey, was moved to the Main Campus of the UFS in Bloemfontein. “In this
way the university has become the central hub for all research programmes. We are
also the liaison between the LExEN programme and the various mining companies
involved,” said Dr Van Heerden. The new laboratory was introduced during the
launch of the research contract.

“Our decision to commit BioPAD to this project stems from the company’s commitment to advance human capacity development to strengthen South Africa’s research infrastructure. It is also part of our aim to create and protect intellectual property,” said Mr Butana Mboniswa, Chief Executive Officer of BioPAD.

Talking on behalf of the UFS senior management, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector
of Academic Operations, said that the university shares the excitement to be part of
the exploration of unknown forms of life, the discovery of new genes and
their products and in applying newly gained knowledge to better understand our
universe.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
27 March 2007

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